Pope to issue pastoral letter on child abuse

[admin]

Pope Benedict XVI will this morning publish his long-awaited pastoral letter to Catholics in Ireland on the clerical child sex abuse scandals.

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[newtry]

the letter has just been issued apologizing to all the victim's in ireland only
for the abuse by the clergy.

[Rashers]

If I were a practicing Catholic the hypocricy would make me puke.

In the letter, the Pontiff said some bishops had failed 'at times grievously' to apply canon law to the crime of child abuse.

It was because the church hierarchy believed that canon law superceded natural and criminal law that so many of their pedophiles were given a free hand to continue their abuse.

He also said there was a 'misplaced concern' to protect the Church and avoid scandal.

And who would know that better than HIM? It was he, as Cardinal Ratzinger who was known as the Vatican's Rotweiler because his sole job was to 'protect the Church and avoid scandal.'

As the friend of one of the victims, a young lad that was incarcerated in one of the (un)holy Catholic run industrial schools, who went from a happy carefree kid of 12 to an introverted old man of 16 I refuse to accept such hypocritical drivel.

[Womblemum]

the letter has just been issued apologizing to all the victim's in ireland only
for the abuse by the clergy.

Another case of passing the buck!! He implys that the way the hierarcy in Ireland acted was at their own behest when all along we have been told that they obeyed canon law and advice/instructions from Rome. More platitudes to insult the intelligence of any right minded moral individual...regardless of religion. Again I ask people..go to mass on Easter Sunday and get up and walk out when the priest commences to read the letter!

[Mykidsmom]

good idea dolores..i think the letter is an insult to everyone to be honest.....and i think rather than patch things up yer man in the vatican has made things a whole lot worse

[Deirdre]

good idea dolores..i think the letter is an insult to everyone to be honest.....and i think rather than patch things up yer man in the vatican has made things a whole lot worse

I agree

[Suzieq]

I agree

Hi all - read about it here

[Womblemum]

Correction to my previous post...it is being read at mass tomorrow!!!

[Mykidsmom]

i sure hope there will be a "mass exodus" in protest

[Rashers]

i sure hope there will be a "mass exodus" in protest

After all these years I think I'll go just for the sake of showing my disgust by walking out.

[Womblemum]

After all these years I think I'll go just for the sake of showing my disgust by walking out.

Did ya?? I did although I don't think it made any difference but I felt better for doing it!! In Kerry a man caused a disturbance by shouting at the priest and was removed by massgoers then interviewed by the police.

[Mykidsmom]

were you the only one to walk out in your mass dolores??? thats disgraceful what happened to the man in kerry..i think you were right to walk out ..id have done that too..i think sitting thro the mass and listening to that drivel without protest sends the message that everything is ok..and the irish are as easy a target to push around as theyve always been..

Good on you Womble....!

[Deirdre]

At our 11am Mass here the priest told us that he was going to talk about the Pope's apology to the Irish victims during his sermon .......guess what more then half off us filed out of the Church whilst he was speaking and many of us returned to Mass after he had concluded ..........I dont know if it made much difference but I for one felt better not to have listened to the banter .......

[Pammy]

Good on ya woman.....and anyone else who left the church.....its all such hypocricy....

[Rashers]

Did ya?? I did although I don't think it made any difference but I felt better for doing it!! In Kerry a man caused a disturbance by shouting at the priest and was removed by massgoers then interviewed by the police.

Well done you and Deirdre. You showed them that they're church is falling around their ears and that we Irish are not falling for their empty platitudes any longer.

I wish now I'd gone and walked out. To tell the truth I just couldn't bring myself to stand in one of their chapels.... now I wish I had shown my comradeship with those who rejected their hypocricy.